Goals:
0-1: Norwood pen (90, sent Randolph the wrong way after earning the penalty himself)
Bookings: Johansen (13, foul); Howson (55, foul); Odoi (60, foul); Clayton (90, foul)
Sending-off: None
Referee: Geoff Eltringham (Sunderland) – infuriated Boro supporters with his two penalty decisions that proved costly. 4
Attendance: 23,850
Entertainment: **
Boro Ful
Shots on 0 2
Shots off 9 12
Corners 5 1
Offsides 2 3
Fouls 13 12
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-2-3-1):
6 Randolph: Had done what he needed to do before he was beaten by Norwoood’s penalty;
6 Shotton: Defended reasonably well over the course of the 90 minutes
7 Ayala: Got his body in the way of plenty whenever the ball came in his direction
7 Gibson: Was solid enough alongside Ayala and Fulham didn’t look like scoring until that late penalty shout
6 Friend: Similar display to Shotton on the other side, and did well to keep Ojo quiet;
5 Leadbitter: Had kept the ball moving throughout in the middle and guilty of being the man deemed to have tripped Norwood
6 Howson: Sprayed some lovely passes but could have done with being more of a threat in the final third
7 TRAORE: Enjoyed a strong first half but faded after the restart and ended up being taken off.
6 Braithwaite: Created a fantastic chance with a fine run when he hit the side netting and should have earned a penalty
5 Downing: Not as influential as he has been in recent weeks despite being given the No 10 role
5 Gestede: Caused problems but also guilty of wasting two of the game’s best chances
Subs:
Assombalonga (for Gestede 63): Hit the crossbar moments before Norwood’s winner. 5
Clayton (for Braithwaite 81)
Johnson (for Traore 82)
(not used): Konstantopoulos (gk), Christie, Bamford, Fletcher.
FULHAM (4-3-2-1): Bettinelli 6; Fredericks 6, Ream 7, Odoi 5, R Sessegnon 6; McDonald 6, Johansen 5, NORWOOD 7; Ojo 4 (Kalas 52, 5), Piazon 5 (Kebano 85), Kamara 5 (Fonte 58, 5). Subs (not used): Button (gk), Cairney, Edun, S Sessegnon.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Adama Traore – lit up the first half with his drive and running even if he also could have done much better with his final ball.
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